Apple Shakers After-School Snack

Disclosure: I received this product in exchange for an honest review as part of the Mom Meets blogger program. All opinions are my own.

 Kay gets home from kindergarten and, like kids everywhere, is looking for a snack. We try to keep healthy things around to tide her over until dinner (a whole hour and a half away...the horror!). But I recently remembered one of my old favorite snacks and decided to give it a try with her.

  We call it "apple shakers". 

Ingredients: 

• 1 apple
  
• 1 tsp. Monk Fruit in the Raw
  
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
  

Dice up the apple (or have your preschooler try it - it's great fine motor practice!) and toss it into a sandwich bag. (I have to remind myself not to say things like "toss it in" because Kay seems to be a very literal person...) 
  Add the Monk Fruit in the Raw and cinnamon. Then comes the fun part...shake it up! Close the bag and mix the contents together. (Kay likes to jump when she does it - that's why there's no pictures of the active process!) Then take out and eat - yum! You can have it right from the bag or put it in a little bowl (I like putting it in the bowl for Kay because then there's usually some left over for me!)  I love this snack as much as Kay does. It's quick, it's easy, and it tastes good - can't beat that!

Monk Fruit in the Raw FYI

  So, what is this Monk Fruit in the Raw of which I speak, you're saying. I know - I was thinking the same thing to myself when I first heard of it. Answer: A healthier alternative to sugar...okay, sounds good, but what else?

• It's made of the sweet extract from monk fruit, a vine-ripened fruit native to Asia, and blended with other sweeteners to give it it's yummy taste.
  
• Vegan, kosher and gluten-free, it also does not contain any table sugar, sugar alcohols or molasses. (You had me at vegan!)
  
• It can replace anything that you usually use sugar in, from baking to beverages, sauces to cereal. I've been adding it to my morning Cheerios and almond milk and I have to say...loving it!
  

  Have you given this sugar-alternative a taste yet? And what do your kids like to eat when they come home from school? (Looking for ideas here!)